Distribution And Breeding Behaviour Of Brahminy Kite (Haliastur Indus) On Penang Island And Matang Mangrove Forest Reserve, Kuala Sepetang, Perak
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Date
2011-03
Authors
Indrayanto, Patricia
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Universiti Sains Malaysia
Abstract
Brahminy Kite (Haliastur indus) or Helang Merah is known as a totally protected
bird in Peninsular Malaysia. Department of Wildlife and National Parks (1992)
reported that their numbers are decreasing due to the destruction of their native
habitat. For ensuring good management conservation of this species in Malaysia, the
distribution, nest-site selection, and behaviors of Braminy Kite in both disturbed and
less disturbed area should be studied. For this purposes nesting surveys were
conducted in disturbed area (Penang Island) and in less disturbed area (Matang
Mangrove Forest Reserve, Kuala Sepetang, Perak). The surveys were performed
during the breeding season, and. the microhabitat parameters such as latitude,
longitude, nest height, tree height, tree at elevation and Girth at Breast Height (GBH)
were recorded. Land use map were made to identify the nesting distribution by using
remote sensing and Geographic Information System (GIS). Macrohabitat data i.e, the
distances of the nests to water, to road, and to built environment were calculated by
using GIS. The microhabitats and macrohabitats data were then evaluated by using
Mann-Whitney U-test and Principal Component Analysis (PCA), whilst the breeding
behaviors were collected by using focal animal sampling. On Penang Island,
Brahminy Kite nests were located in several land use activities, such as on
mangroves, coastal area, and near human habitation, while in Kuala Sepetang, Perak
the nests were located only in mangrove forest. PCA analysis showed that nests in
Kuala Sepetang, Perak relatively have similar characteristics, whilst on Penang
Island their characteristics were relatively different. Mann-Whitney U-test of the
nests on Penang Island and Kuala Sepetang, Perak, was significantly different
(p<0.05). PCA analysis also demonstrated that the nest site-selection of Brahminy
Kite depended on three major variables, namely, distance to water, distance to main
road, distance to built environment, and three minor variables i.e. tree height, nest
height, and tree at elevation. Breeding behaviors of Brahminy Kite pairs on Penang
Island were relatively similar to the kites that lived in New South Wales, Australia
and Tamil Nadu, India. Both female and male shared efforts in building nest,
incubation, and guard the nest. The female did most of the incubation and feeding
activities, while the male did most of the caring of the nest and delivery preys.
Description
Keywords
Of Brahminy Kite (Haliastur Indus) , Penang Island